Committee Decisions

CONF 208 VIII.30-31

Simien National Park (Ethiopia)

VIII.30 The Committee noted that the Bureau, at its twenty-fifth session held in June 2001, had reviewed a report of an IUCN/Centre mission that visited the site from 8 to 13 April 2001 and recommended the adoption of the following specific benchmarks for the future monitoring of the state of conservation of Simen and its eventual removal from the List of World Heritage in Danger: (a) the realignment of the boundary of the Park to exclude the villages along the boundary of the Park; (b) the extension of the Park to include at least Mesarerya and Lemalino Wildlife Reserves; (c) significant and sustainable reduction in the human population density within the Park, especially within the core area; and (d) effective conservation within the extended National Park of a larger population of Walia Ibex and Simien Fox. The Centre had transmitted the Bureau's recommendations to the Committee by a letter dated 11 July 2001, but has not yet received a response.

VIII.31 The Committee adopted the benchmarks proposed by the Bureau and referred to above as a basis for the future monitoring of progress in improving the state of conservation of Simen and invited the State Party to formally respond to the letter from the Centre transmitting the above-mentioned recommendations. The Committee urged the State Party and its site-level partners in project execution to be cognizant of the need to implement the project in close consultation with all stakeholders, and particularly local communities under consideration. The Committee recommended that the Centre and IUCN collaborate with the State Party to raise international awareness for the conservation of this site and mobilize necessary financial resources to implement rehabilitation measures and to ensure the eventual removal of the site from the List of World Heritage in Danger as soon as possible. The Committee decided to retain this site in the List of World Heritage in Danger.